Camping out
I decided to sleep out in the woods the other day. Luckily the woods are pretty close so all I had to do was pack up a bag and walk across the street and up the old logging road. It was late afternoon when I started out but this time of year it does not get dark until around nine so I had plenty of time.
I walked about two miles along the old dirt road and then along a stream. I was trying to find a spot that I had seen when Kevin and I hiked up there in the spring.
Before I got to the spot I was looking for I found a beautiful little place and decided to stop there. The stream there tumbles down a small falls, maybe six feet high, and fills a pool that is about 20 feet across, dammed by washed over stones. The water splits around a clump of rocks that holds two trees. A whole bunch of wood had washed up on the rocks, caught by the trees.
I set up my hammock, stretching it between two trees so that it hung over the water. There were some big flat rocks above the water level. They provided a perfect place to set up a campfire. I piles up a good supply of dry wood within easy reach.
There was still plenty of light and I was hot from all the walking and camp building so I went for a swim. The water was beautiful - clear, cold, and refreshing. I changed into dry clothes and climbed into the hammock with a book and a Coke spiked with bourbon.
When it got too dark to read I lit the fire and opened a beer I had been chilling in the stream. I realized that I had forgotten my flashlight but I had a candle that made a nice light in combination with the fire.
I fed the fire and sipped by beer. The stream tumbled over the rocks, making a beautiful, soothing babble and the firelight was a comfort in the dark. After an hour or so of fire gazing and pondering the universe and other such stuff I drifted of to sleep.
Some hours later I woke up. The fire was down to embers and the candle had gone out. I tried to light it but my lighter had run out of fuel. The wood supply was pretty low. I stoked the fire as much as I could and used blew on it to get the flames back, then used the light to scrounge around for more dead, dry sticks. Luckily the moon was out and was nearly full so I had plenty of light.
Unfortunately I was fully awake and could not get back to sleep. My mind started to drift towards dark thoughts. I remembered the story my neighbor had told of a bear coming into the garage and eating all the apples they had stored in there. The bear had scratched up their pickup truck and made a pretty good mess of things. That garage was about a mile or so down the road from home and backed up to these woods. Then I thought of the tree we saw last summer, about a half mile from here. A bear had stood up and gouged deep grooves into it, at about my eye level. The cuts were so fresh that sap was oozing from them. The bark on the other side of the tree had been completely stripped off.
Soon enough I started to hear sounds in the woods. Leaves were crunching and branches were creaking. Something was creeping around out there. I just knew that as soon as I fell asleep a bear would come. I would wake up in the hammock with a big snout breathing foul bear breath onto my face. Then he would eat me. The longer I lay there, the more certain I was that I was going to see a bear.
I chickened out. I put all the remaining wood onto the fire to get it burning as brightly as possible and used the light to pack up camp. It only took a few minutes. I used a piece of burning wood to relight the candle, and then put out the fire and headed home.
The dirt road was a lot less dark than my camping spot and I did not have any trouble getting back to the house. I sang and talked to my self to let the bears know I was coming. I was hoping that it was true that bears will get away from humans if they hear them from a distance.
Once I was back home I had an incredible craving for ginger ale. It was about 2:30 in the morning but I was pretty sure that Cumberland Farms in town was open all night. I got in the car and made the 10 mile drive and went in to get my soda. As I was walking out the door a group of teenagers was coming in. There were three girls in shorts and t-shirts and a fourth dressed in a teddy bear costume. It was a big brown bear, with a round head and round ears. The bear waved as I walked by.
I walked about two miles along the old dirt road and then along a stream. I was trying to find a spot that I had seen when Kevin and I hiked up there in the spring.
Before I got to the spot I was looking for I found a beautiful little place and decided to stop there. The stream there tumbles down a small falls, maybe six feet high, and fills a pool that is about 20 feet across, dammed by washed over stones. The water splits around a clump of rocks that holds two trees. A whole bunch of wood had washed up on the rocks, caught by the trees.
I set up my hammock, stretching it between two trees so that it hung over the water. There were some big flat rocks above the water level. They provided a perfect place to set up a campfire. I piles up a good supply of dry wood within easy reach.
There was still plenty of light and I was hot from all the walking and camp building so I went for a swim. The water was beautiful - clear, cold, and refreshing. I changed into dry clothes and climbed into the hammock with a book and a Coke spiked with bourbon.
When it got too dark to read I lit the fire and opened a beer I had been chilling in the stream. I realized that I had forgotten my flashlight but I had a candle that made a nice light in combination with the fire.
I fed the fire and sipped by beer. The stream tumbled over the rocks, making a beautiful, soothing babble and the firelight was a comfort in the dark. After an hour or so of fire gazing and pondering the universe and other such stuff I drifted of to sleep.
Some hours later I woke up. The fire was down to embers and the candle had gone out. I tried to light it but my lighter had run out of fuel. The wood supply was pretty low. I stoked the fire as much as I could and used blew on it to get the flames back, then used the light to scrounge around for more dead, dry sticks. Luckily the moon was out and was nearly full so I had plenty of light.
Unfortunately I was fully awake and could not get back to sleep. My mind started to drift towards dark thoughts. I remembered the story my neighbor had told of a bear coming into the garage and eating all the apples they had stored in there. The bear had scratched up their pickup truck and made a pretty good mess of things. That garage was about a mile or so down the road from home and backed up to these woods. Then I thought of the tree we saw last summer, about a half mile from here. A bear had stood up and gouged deep grooves into it, at about my eye level. The cuts were so fresh that sap was oozing from them. The bark on the other side of the tree had been completely stripped off.
Soon enough I started to hear sounds in the woods. Leaves were crunching and branches were creaking. Something was creeping around out there. I just knew that as soon as I fell asleep a bear would come. I would wake up in the hammock with a big snout breathing foul bear breath onto my face. Then he would eat me. The longer I lay there, the more certain I was that I was going to see a bear.
I chickened out. I put all the remaining wood onto the fire to get it burning as brightly as possible and used the light to pack up camp. It only took a few minutes. I used a piece of burning wood to relight the candle, and then put out the fire and headed home.
The dirt road was a lot less dark than my camping spot and I did not have any trouble getting back to the house. I sang and talked to my self to let the bears know I was coming. I was hoping that it was true that bears will get away from humans if they hear them from a distance.
Once I was back home I had an incredible craving for ginger ale. It was about 2:30 in the morning but I was pretty sure that Cumberland Farms in town was open all night. I got in the car and made the 10 mile drive and went in to get my soda. As I was walking out the door a group of teenagers was coming in. There were three girls in shorts and t-shirts and a fourth dressed in a teddy bear costume. It was a big brown bear, with a round head and round ears. The bear waved as I walked by.